It’s getting to be pretty heated among the members of the UCLA men’s volleyball team this season. Whether they are on or off the court, contests arise when something large is at stake.
Sophomore Kevin Ker and the rest of the team get pumped up whenever they play each other in the Xbox 360 game “Rock Band,” strumming and drumming their way to victory. And it is this same competitive spirit that drives the team members to play so hard against each other in practice, competing for the seven spots in the starting lineup.
“We start talking a little bit of trash to each other in practice,” Ker said. “We try to make it as much as a game atmosphere as possible.
“You always have to have that mentality that you’re not secure in that starting position. Even if you are starting, you have to work hard to keep that starting position. It’s not a given.”
As the 2008 season has officially begun, a deep but unsettled starting lineup has raised the level of competition in practice.
The No. 4 Bruins (2-1) have featured three different starting lineups for their first three games, not to mention numerous substitutions in the middle of the match as well.
“Everybody is always battling for their spots at all times,” said setter Matt Wade, who has split time with Ker. “If you don’t come to practice ready one day, you might be out of the job, like on the second team.”
The battle at setter remains close, with Ker distributing half of all assists and Wade dishing out a third of them.
And the same blurry picture can be painted for the hitters as well. It may turn out this year that the only constant will be an ever-changing starting lineup.
“I’d like to get a set lineup more or less,” coach Al Scates said. “But I’ve been mixing up the setters so they can play with everybody.”
Opposite Brett Perrine had been splitting time with Sean O’Malley on the right side, until O’Malley recently began training to become an outside hitter with passing duties.
And outside hitters Dylan Bowermaster, Jeff Woodley and Ryan Ratelle have all been able to claim a huge chunk of playing time on the left alongside Garrett Muagututia, who has played consistently enough to secure a starting spot in all three matches.
“Garrett has always been a strong outside hitter,” Wade said. “I think he’s gotten a lot better at hitting the high ball this year. We can feed him more balls as the year goes on.”
The middle remains muddled as well, though returnee Jamie Diefenbach and true freshman Weston Dunlap have shown the most promise at the net.
In addition to Muagututia, Ker said he feels most confident in Dunlap’s capabilities, noting he’s “shown the best kinds of being in the groove and having good contact with me.”
With all the moving and shuffling of the lineup, it may seem the team has little chemistry. Yet the comfort level is high among the players no matter who else is on the court with them, so new personnel are not a problem that bothers the rhythm of the team.
“We’re so used to being switched around all the time that at any given moment anyone can be in and we’ll all meld together as a team,” libero Tony Ker said. “It works well.”
For the setters as well, familiarity with each of their hitters will provide a seamless transition between substitutions this year.
“After playing with these guys for such a long time, it kind of gets ingrained into your brain as a setter just how they like it, fast or slow,” Wade said.
So when the Bruins play Stanford and Pacific this weekend, and as they tackle the rest of the teams on their schedule, who gets to play may feel like a coin toss.
Yet the ever-changing lineup means a host of backup players will be eager to get time.